Max Verstappen admitted after qualifying at Zandvoort that he has been feeling under the weather throughout the weekend, while Red Bull’s RB22 has been unable to disguise weaknesses that have followed it for much of the season.
The result was a seventh-place starting position for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix, his final home race along the shores of the North sea, which left him four tenths of a second adrift of polesitter Lando Norris.
"I've felt better before, yes," Verstappen told media after qualifying. "I feel a bit flu-like and I’m just not feeling as much energy as normal."
It is hardly ideal preparation for a race that carries such emotional significance. Yet the four-time world champion insisted his bug has materially compromised his performance once he was behind the wheel.
"No, I don’t think so. I think once you’re in the car, it’s actually fine,” he said.
Away from the cockpit, however, the lack of energy is clearly being felt. Even with the grandstands packed with his orange-clad supporters, Verstappen conceded that there is one thing he wants more than anything else this weekend.
"Of course, I still enjoy all the fans in the grandstands, but apart from that, I’m mostly looking forward to getting some sleep,” he said.
Zandvoort exposes Red Bull's weaknesses
If Verstappen's physical condition is one problem, Red Bull's lack of pace is the considerably bigger one.
The team threw changes at the RB22 after the sprint in an attempt to extract more performance, but nothing appeared to move the needle. The car remained unpredictable through corners, making it difficult for its driver to extract the maximum from it.
Verstappen was blunt about the outcome.
"We changed quite a lot on the car after the sprint, but none of it made any difference," he explained.
"The balance of the car is the biggest problem. It’s just not consistent throughout the entire corner, but it has been like that all season. It’s just a little worse at some circuits than at others."
Zandvoort, with its combination of high-speed corners and demanding changes of direction, is proving particularly unforgiving.
"It depends on the tarmac sometimes, but also on the layout of the track, he added. “This one is for sure not our best layout, but we just need to work on it. We can guess on what track it might be a little bit better, but we need to try and just dial it out."
But Verstappen does not believe another round of set-up tinkering will suddenly transform Red Bull's fortunes. The problem runs deeper.
Fundamental problems, not a quick fix
"I think we’re now simply more limited by some fundamental problems with the car that we need to solve,” the Dutchman said.
"At this circuit you also have some fast corners and we’re lacking there as well. In general, if you don’t have a good balance, you can’t really attack the corners. And if you don’t have traction either, you can’t get out of the corners properly, so all of that costs time."
That leaves Verstappen facing the uncomfortable prospect of having little more than damage limitation available on Sunday.
Unless the weather or an unexpected incident throws the race into chaos, seventh may represent the ceiling of what Red Bull can realistically achieve.
It is an underwhelming way to close the curtain on the Dutch Grand Prix, particularly for a driver who has dominated its modern era with three victories since the race returned to the calendar in 2021.
Read aslo: Tsunoda reveals shock at ‘very different’ F1 car on returnStill, Verstappen was keen to look beyond the disappointing final chapter and remember what Zandvoort has meant to him.
"It’s absolutely the end of an era," he said. "To have had your own home race and to have been able to win it a few times is very special.
“Of course, it’s a shame that it’s going away, but on the other hand, it has also given me a lot of great moments and memories."
There may yet be one more memory to make. But Verstappen is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge.
"I’m really only satisfied when we win, but that’s going to be very difficult tomorrow," he said.
"We’ve been a little too slow throughout this season and that’s not suddenly going to change in Zandvoort, but we’re just going to try to enjoy it one last time."
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